Admiral of the Fleet William Peere Williams-Freeman (6 January 1742 – 11 February 1832) (born William Peere Williams) was an officer in the Royal Navy. He saw action aboard as a junior officer at the Battle of Quiberon Bay during the Seven Years' War. He also took part, as captain of the fifth-rate , in the Battle of Rhode Island and then, as captain of the fifth-rate , in the second relief of Gibraltar during the American Revolutionary War. Eventually (many years after his retirement from the Navy) Williams-Freeman became Admiral of the Fleet for a brief period before his death at the age of 90. Family and early life Williams was born in Peterborough on 6 January 1742, the son of Frederick Williams, prebendary of Peterborough, and his wife Mary Williams (née Clavering). His paternal grandfather was William Peere Williams, while his maternal grandfather was Robert Clavering, bishop of Peterborough, and his maternal grandmother was Mary Freeman, sister of John Cook Freeman of Fawley Court, Buckinghamshire. William Williams was educated at Eton College, and was entered on the books of the 100-gun first-rate HMS Royal Sovereign, the guardship at Spithead, in June 1757. He appears to have first gone to sea in August 1759 aboard the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Magnanime under Lord Howe. Williams saw action aboard her at the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War. First commands In September 1762 Williams followed Howe to the 80-gun third-rate HMS Princess Amelia, and in August 1763 joined the 50-gun HMS Romney with Lord Colville on the Halifax station. On 18 September 1764 he was promoted to be lieutenant of the fifth-rate HMS Rainbow on the Virginia station, and remained in her till she paid off in October 1766. On 26 May 1768 he was promoted to master and commander of the bomb vessel . He became a post-captain on 10 January 1771 and was appointed to command the 30-gun fifth-rate . He moved to the 28-gun sixth-rate on 21 March. He married shortly after this, on 20 June, after which he took Active to the West Indies. There his health gave way and in July 1773 he used his interest to get the ship sent to Newfoundland. His health, however, did not improve, and on 11 October the station's commander, Rear-Admiral John Montagu gave him command of the 20-gun post